A Chosen Path
by Soaran
Summary: Katherine has always had a knack for dealing with Pokemon, and has always wanted to become a trainer, only her mother has refused to allow it. But now with a chance to finally become one, Katherine is in for the adventure of a lifetime, and she might just
1. A Journey's Start

My first attempt at a pokemon fic, have I gone insane or what?

Katherine has always had a knack for dealing with Pokemon, and has always wanted to become a trainer, only her mother has refused to allow it. But now with a chance to finally become one, Katherine is in for the adventure of a lifetime, and she might just discover how much more than a knack it really is.

Disclaimer: Pokemon does not, I repeat, does not belong to me. Any original characters that pop up do, so no copying.

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  "I said no Katherine, don't ask me stupid questions when you already know the answer."

  "But mom…"

  "For the last time no! I forbid you to become a Pokemon trainer!"

  Katherine didn't move, fury reaching a breaking point inside her. "Why is it the only one you care about is yourself?!" she burst, ignoring the look of venom her mother gave her.

  "Young lady if you ever use that tone of voice with my again I'll-"

  "You'll what? Punish me? Throw me out on the streets? Here, let me help you with that, I can't stand being in your _marvelous _presence anymore anyway." That being said, Katherine stormed out of her mother's flower shop and into the streets of Blackthorn City.

  Walking down the street Katherine clenched her fists, fighting back tears that threatened to well in her eyes. *I refuse to cry because of that excuse of a human being.*

  Stopping to see where she was Katherine found herself in front of the Pokecenter where she volunteered her extra time. In fact she spent as much time as she could there, away from her mother and the flower shop. She had always liked Pokemon, ever since she was little, and had volunteered at the Pokecenter to learn about them as much as she could, and Nurse Joy had become close to a second mother to her.

  Deciding to see if there was anything she could help with she walked into Pokecenter and found absolute chaos.

  Chansey were running this way and that trying to calm down a raging Tauros. Nurse Joy looked besides herself and the trainer was desperately trying to get close to the raging pokemon.

  Nurse Joy suddenly spotted her. "Kat! Be careful!"

  Katherine didn't heed Nurse Joy's warning, she didn't need to, she knew that the Tauros wouldn't attack her. She started to move ever so slowly toward the bull.

  "Hey! Are you crazy? Get out of there!" the boy yelled at her. Another wasted warning.

  The Tauros suddenly looked at Katherine, and she locked eyes with it. "Don't worry, no one's gonna hurt you," she said in an almost unbelievably calm voice.

  The Tauros inexplicably started to calm down, Katherine moved a little closer to the Pokemon. She finally got near enough to touch it, which she did, stroking its nose with her hand.

  "See, you're safe, nothing to worry about," she said soothingly, starting to scratch the Tauros behind its ears.

  There was a sudden flash of red light and the Tauros dissolved, sucked back into its pokeball.

  "Why do you always worry me like that Katherine?"

  Katherine looked up at Nurse Joy and smiled. "I don't see why you worry Nurse Joy, all these times I've never been attack by a Pokemon."

  "I still worry because of the risks you take, Tauros can be very dangerous, especially when they're confused like that."

  "I don't look at them as risks, I look at them as something that needs to be done and something that needs help."

  "Well, that's your philosophy and I won't argue with it. But if you'll excuse me, I need to take care of this Tauros." With that Nurse Joy turned and walked toward a Chansey with the waiting pokeball.

  "Hey Nurse Joy!" Katherine called out, "is there anything I can help with?"

  Nurse Joy just had to smile at Katherine's enthusiasm. "No, today's a slow day, and there aren't any serious cases, too bad every day's not like this." She and Chansey went back to an examination room.

  Katherine sighed, *great, now what am I going to do?*

  "Hey."

  She turned to find the Tauros's trainer. The boy stuck out his hand, "hi, my name's Vincent, I just wanted to say thank you for calming down my Tauros."

  Katherine smiled, "no problem," she said, shaking Vincent's hand, "my name's Katherine, but everyone calls me Kat."

  "Well Kat, thank you again. Are you doing anything, or could we maybe have a chat?"

  "Sure, I've got nothing else to do."

  She and Vincent walked into the lounge where a several trainers were already relaxing. A few recognized her and waved hellos. Vincent stopped at one of the vending machines. "You want anything?" he asked.

  "If the waters aren't sold out one would be nice."

  "One water coming up," he said, grabbing a water and two sodas.

  Sitting down at one of the booths Vincent fumbled with a pokeball on his belt. "Come on out Golduck," he said, flicking open the ball. A Golduck materialized onto the floor, looking at its trainer expectantly.

  "Here you go buddy, one nice cool soda."

  "Golduck!" the water type exclaimed happily. Grabbing the soda from Vincent's outstretched hand he quickly tore off the tab and began gulping it down.

  Kat smiled as she took a sip of her water. "A soda crazy Golduck? And I thought I had seen weird with the Growlithe that liked water."

  "What can I say? Golduck somehow always knows when I'm having a soda, and he gets royally PO'ed when I don't get him one, believe me, you don't want to be on the receiving end of this guy's fury swipes."

  "Mmm," Kat replied, absentmindedly running a hand through her blue hair, she was still getting used to the fact it was short, having been cut recently. Her mother had loved her long hair, it reaching halfway down her back. Kat's decision to get it cut was not well received, her hair now only reaching a little below her ears. But it was still her hair, not her mother's.

  "Something wrong?"

  "What? Oh, it's nothing, I was just thinking about how mad my mother must be right now." She suddenly felt a surge of anger, and slammed her fist down on the table. "How can she make that decision for me? Who's says she gets to decide whether I become a Pokemon trainer or not?"

  Kat looked up to find Vincent looking rather frightened. She immediately felt shameful for her sudden outburst. She stood up, "sorry, I really should be going, thanks again for the water." She quickly walked out of the room.

  "Gol, golduck?"

  "Poor kid, guess her mother doesn't like Pokemon, it's really too bad, you should have seen how well she dealt with Tauros, she'd make an excellent trainer."

  "Excuse me."

  Vincent looked up to find a women with light blue hair and wearing a dark blue cape speaking to him.

  "Did you be any chance get that girl's name?"

  "Yeah, her name's Katherine, she's not in trouble, is she?"

  "No, I just want to talk to her, thank you for your information." That being said the women walked out the door, leaving Vincent rather confused.

  "Well, that was odd."

  "Dude, do you know who you were just talking with?" Vincent was starting to get annoyed, why were all these people suddenly bugging him? He turned to look at the trainer.

  "Well obviously no, does it even matter?"

  "That was Clair."

  Vincent almost choked on his soda. "Clair? As in the Blackthorn City Gym Leader Clair?" The trainer nodded. Vincent cupped his forehead in his hand, "I think I need to lie down."

*****

  Kat sighed, normally this was her favorite place to be. She could see a good portion of Route 45 from here, and she always liked watching the wild Pokemon, but today she just wasn't feeling right, not after that outburst at Vincent.

  "How could I be so tactless, bursting at Vincent like that, he was being nice."

  She sighed again and stretched, lying down on the grass. Too bad she couldn't stay here forever.

  "Katherine! Are you out here?"

  *Great, here comes my mother, should have known she'd find me sooner or later.*

  She rose to her feet and turned, only to feel her mouth drop down in shock. Looking at her was the most beautiful Dragonair she had ever seen, its blue scales shimmering in the sunlight.

  "Dra?" The Dragonair looked at her questioningly, as if asking why she was staring.

  "Good Dragonair, you found her. Hello Katherine."

  Katherine focused on the source of the voice, only to find her voice had left her.

  "Lady Clair?" she managed to squeak out.

  "No need for formalities dear, just call me Clair."

  Kat gulped, "alright, Clair."

  "Come, let's sit," she said, motioning to a tree, "I want to talk to you."

  Kat nodded, still feeling nervous, and followed Clair to the tree. Clair's Dragonair stretched out in a sunny spot and promptly went to sleep.

  "Now," Clair said, sitting down in the shade of the tree and motioning for Kat to do the same, "I understand that you're the one that calmed down that Tauros."

  Kat nodded, "it wasn't really anything special, I-"

  Clair cut her off, "don't sell yourself short, you have a way with Pokemon, I can tell. I also understand your mother refuses to let you become a Pokemon trainer."

  Kat nodded, lowering her eyes to the ground, "I guess you heard that…"

  "Well, I think it's a crime not to let you become one, which is why I'm going to sign you up myself to become a trainer."

  Kat's head snapped up. "Really? You're serious?"

  "Yes, you leave tomorrow to get your starter from Professor Elm in New Bark Town. Don't worry about your mother, I'm going to explain everything to her. Tonight you should probably get packed, meet me tomorrow morning in front of the Pokemon Center." Clair stood up, "Dragonair! Time to go!" she turned her head and smiled down at Kat, "see you tomorrow." With that being said she returned Dragonair and walked back toward the city.

  Kat stood up, still not quite believing what had just happened.

  "Okay, either something is playing a rather elaborate and cruel practical joke, or today starts the rest of my life."

  She stared up at the clouds, watching a flock of Pidgey fly by.

  "No," she whispered, "no one would play this sort of trick on me." Silent tears of joy began to stream down her face. "After all these years, I'm finally going to be a Pokemon trainer."

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Loved it? Hated it? Think it should be thrown into the dark pit of oblivion? Tell me what you think.


	2. What The Rain Brings

Thankies to all reviewers last chapter, and Happy New Year. I must be spoiling you people, putting up the second chapter only a few days after putting up the first one^_^

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  Kat breathed in a deep breath of morning air, the day couldn't have been more perfect. There were only a few clouds in the sky and a light breeze cooled the air. She couldn't have wished for a better day to start her Pokemon journey.

  Last night could have been better though. Her mother had shouted, cursed, even threatened her if she planned to carry out this "fool's dream," but nothing she had said deterred Kat, she was done taking orders from her mother. She was even wearing her favorite outfit, which coincidently her mother despised. It consisted of a pair of denim jeans and sneakers, a black t-shirt with a white jacket, and all that topped off with a band of red colored cloth holding her hair back.

  Kat shouldered her pack and began walking toward the Pokemon Center. Passing by a bookstore she stopped and got a few books detailing wilderness survival and wild foods both Pokemon and humans could eat, she knew they were bound to come in handy one day.

  "Odd books you're buying today Miss Bowing," the elderly shopkeeper said as she placed the books in her pack.

  "Well they're bound to be useful with what I'm doing from now on Mrs. Luefen," Kat replied cheerfully, "starting today I'm a trainer."

  Mrs. Luefen clasped her hands to her chest, "oh that's wonderful dear! I remember when my son started his journey, he's quite the respectable trainer now too." She smiled, "make sure you take care of your Pokemon, they'll be the best friends you'll ever have."

  Kat smiled and waved as she left the shop, "don't worry, I will."

  It wasn't long before Kat reached the Pokemon Center. Just as she had said, Clair was waiting in front of the Pokemon Center with Nurse Joy.

  "Morning!" Kat called out as she neared, waving energetically to the pair.

  "Good morning Katherine, I trust you're well rested?" Clair asked, smiling at her enthusiasm.

  "More like I'm hyped up on excitement."

  Clair chuckled, "I see, well, we brought you a few things to help start your journey." Clair reached into the bag she was carrying, "this is a Pokegear, you can use it as a cell phone or a radio, and it already has a detailed map programmed into it."

  "And this is a gift from all of us at the Pokemon Center," Nurse Joy said, handing Kat a large envelope and a bag containing a few bottles of potions and various medicines, "just think of it as a thank you gift for all the help you've given us at the Pokemon Center."

  Kat just stared, struck speechless at the gifts. "You guys, this is too much, you didn't have to give me this," she finally managed.

  Nurse Joy waved a hand dismissively, "nonsense, it was the least we could do after what you've been through to become a trainer."

  Kat smiled and gave Nurse Joy a hug. "Thank you," she whispered in her ear.

  "Ah, and before I forget," Clair suddenly spoke up, "the Dragon Master wishes you the best of luck, and sends you this," she pulled a small pouch from her pocket and open it up, fishing out a silver necklace with a fang attached. "It's customary to present fledgling trainers from Blackthorn with a dragon fang necklace, it's our way of saying good luck." With Kat's permission she put around her neck, where the white fang contrasted sharply against her black t-shirt, "it'll take you at most two days to reach New Bark if you start out now." That being said Clair stuck out her hand, which Kat gladly shook. "I wish you the best of luck, and I hope I will see you again someday."

  Kat nodded, "thank you both again for so much." With that Kat turned and started for the city limits, turned slightly so she could wave goodbye.

*****

  At the beginning of Route 45 Kat stopped and took in a long breath of air. Turning she took one last look at the city that had been her home for the last fourteen years.

  "Well Blackthorn, it's been good, but now I'm leaving, see ya again someday." With that Kat turned and started down the path.

  "Kat! Wait!"

  Surprised, Kat turned and found Mrs. Luefen hurrying toward her, her hands clutching a case.

  Wheezing slightly she stood in front of Kat. "Good thing I caught you before you left," she held out the case, "this is a Pokemon egg my son sent me, he thought I'd be lonely now that my husband's gone, but I'm so busy with the bookstore I wouldn't have time to take care of the little dear, that's why I want you to have it."

  "But- but-" Kat managed to sputter out.

  "I won't take no for an answer dear, just take it."

  Kat accepted the case with shaking hands. "Mrs. Luefen, I don't know what to say, I mean, wow, thank you."

  Mrs. Luefen smiled, "your happiness is all I need, just take care of the little one when it hatches. My son didn't tell me what it is, so it'll be a surprise for the both of us."

  Kat gave a quick little bow, "don't worry, next time you see me this egg will be a happy, healthy Pokemon."

  "Glad to hear it dear."

  Kat smiled again and started down the path, her step a little unsteady from joyful shock she had just received.

*****

  *Why? Why did this have to happen now? It was sunny just five minutes ago, now rain is threatening to start pouring any minute now.*

  Kat hurried along the path, keeping her eyes pealed for any sort of cave or outcropping of rock she could stay under till the storm passed.

  Another crack of thunder sounded in the distance and Kat picked up her pace.

  *Ah ha! There's one!*

  Kat started to jog toward the large ledge, a jog which quickly turned into a run as she heard the rain start to pelt the ground behind her. She managed to dive under the ledge just as the rain reached her.

  "Whew, that was close."

  Leaning against the wall she set down her pack and breathed a sigh of relief. It was nearing twilight and it didn't look like the rain was going to let up any time soon, looks like she was spending the night here. Kat was just about to grab some of the dried fruit slices from her pack when she heard something. It was a patter of feet on the ground, something was coming toward her and coming fast.

  A small shape suddenly burst through the curtain of rain and right into her lap, knocking the air from her lungs. "Oof! Boy, for a little guy you sure do pack a punch."

  The tiny Pokemon squealed in fear and backed up toward the curtain of rain. Now that it was in the light Kat could see what it was.

  It was a Phanpy, or more accurately, a soaking wet Phanpy. The tiny Pokemon started to back away from her, drawing closer to the curtain of falling water.

  "Hey, don't worry, I won't hurt you." Kat slowly extended a hand, allowing the Phanpy to sniff it. Keeping its eyes on Kat it slowly reached out with its trunk and curled it around Kat's hand.

  "See? I'm nice, no need to be afraid."

  "Phanpy, phan phan." It seemed to smile and flapped its ears in carefree manner, it was then she noticed the scar running below his left eye. *Poor guy must have cut himself* she thought.

  "You hungry little guy? I've got some dried fruit if you want to try it." Reaching into her pack Kat retrieved a few of the slices, her hand brushing against the envelope Nurse Joy had given her in the process. Grabbing it too she placed a few slices in front of the Phanpy who readily gobbled them up and turned her attention to the envelope.

  Kat frowned as she examined it. "Weird, I don't remember it being this heavy." Slitting open the back she open it up to take a look inside, only to have her jaw don't in total disbelief. The envelope was full of money.

  "Jeez, there must be $5000 in here, I can't believe Nurse Joy would give me that much."

  "Phanpy," the Pokemon suddenly whined.

  Kat looked over at it to find Phanpy looking expectantly over at her. "Oh, you want some more?"

  She placed the envelope back in her pack and brought out more of the dried fruit. Having several herself she suddenly noticed how dark it had gotten, and she started to hear Hoothoot calling to each other through the rain.

  "Wow, time sure does fly," she looked over at Phanpy, "we might as well get to sleep, shouldn't we?"

  After changing into a pair of soft pajama pants and a night shirt Kat unrolled her sleeping bag with the aid of a small flashlight she had brought and had started to crawl in when she suddenly remembered something.

  "That's right, the egg, Nurse Joy always said that eggs need to be kept warm." She crawled over to the case, and, holding the flashlight between her teeth, brought out the egg. Finally getting a good look at it she noticed it was lovely shade of light periwinkle blue. She held up the egg to her ear, staining to hear any signs of life emanating from it, even though in her mind she knew it was too soon.

  Kat crawled back to the sleeping bag and slipped in, holding the egg next to stomach. She felt Phanpy curl up near her feet and gave a contented sigh. Within minutes she was asleep.

*****

  The next morning the entire area smelled like rain, one could tell it was going to be a hot day though. Kat walked outside in her red with white flowers board shorts and a white tank top, stretching as the sun hit her face.

  "Phanpy phan?"

  Kat smiled as she looked down at the Pokemon, who was looking rather sad at her departure. "It was nice meeting you Phanpy, but I really have to be going now. You take care of yourself, maybe we'll meet again someday." Kat started walking away, waving as she did. Phanpy waved its trunk in the air in response.

  "Phannpy!"

  It was nearing noon and the sun was high in the sky as Kat started to see the roofs of buildings in the distance. Smiling, she gave a whoop of joy, she had made it to New Bark, now all that was left was to go the Professor Elm's lab and she could get her first Pokemon.

  Telling her weary feet that it would only be a little while longer Kat quickened her pace and headed straight for the heart of town.

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R&R! Well, I guess it's more like R, because hopefully you would read before reviewing^_^

I'm open to suggestions and ideas, feel free to ask any questions, till next chapter.


	3. Silver Charm

*grins sheepishly* Hiya everyone, sorry for the long wait, I finally got Pokemon Ruby for my birthday, and I've been kinda, well, obsessed.

*sister walks in* OMG! She's not playing Pokemon! It's a miracle! *runs out*

Ehehe, yeah, I mean really obsessed, as in starting at 3 p.m. and stopping at 1 a.m. On the bright side though, I beat the Elite 4 in less then 60 hours, with all my Pokemon at Lv. 50, and only one fainted the entire time, and that was during the battle with the champion^_^

Anyway, on with the chapter!

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  It didn't take long for Kat to realize she had no idea where she was going. New Bark hadn't seemed this big from up in the hills, but now she was hopelessly lost.

  Sitting down on a bench she gave a sigh of frustration, she was starting to get a headache and all this walking around was getting her nowhere.

  "Hey, you okay?"

  Kat looked up to find a little boy looking at her, he couldn't have been older than six. "Yeah, I'm okay, I'd be better if I wasn't lost though."

  "I can help, where do you need to go?" The boy asked smiling.

  Kat had to smile back, "I'm trying to get to Professor Elm's lab."

  "No problem, I can get you there easy," the little boy reached forward and grabbed her hand, "come on."

  Kat stood up and let herself be lead by the little boy.

  *What have I gotten myself into?*

*****

  It was about half an hour before they managed to get to the lab. Twice the little boy had gone off in a tangent when he had seen a butterfly and Kat had gotten more odd looks than she could count.

  Entering the lab Kat stopped a second just to look around. Researchers were bustling here and there and there were quite a few pieces of equipment the Kat could only guess what their use was. And yet, the atmosphere seemed a little off, everything felt subdued and shaken. It made Kat tense up, she hated that feeling.

  The little boy seemed oblivious to it though. "Come on, I'll show you where his office is, my dad's sure to be there."

  *Dad?*

  The boy continued to lead her through the halls with practiced ease, and soon they entered an office where a man wearing glasses was sitting at a desk typing something up on a computer.

  "Dad, I brought someone to meet you!"

  Prof. Elm jumped, "oh, William you startled me horribly, haven't I told you to knock."

  William gazed down at the floor almost guiltily, "sorry."

  The Prof. looked up at Kat, "you wouldn't happen to be Katherine, would you?"

  Kat nodded, "yeah, I'm Katherine, I'm here to pick up my starter."

  He leaned back in his chair, "I was afraid of that, you see Katherine, last night we had a break in, thieves took quite a bit of our research and several Pokemon as well, including the Cyndaquil that was going to be your starter.

  Kat's heart went to her throat, "are the other trainer's starters okay?"

  Elm nodded, "yes, the others picked up their Pokemon yesterday, I'm terribly sorry about this unfortunate turn of events, Clair told me how much you were looking forward to this."

  Kat sat down heavily in a chair, her face buried in a hand, trying to hold back her disappointment. "Is there any other way I could get a starter?" her finally managed to choke out, her voice betraying how she felt.

  He thought for a second, "well, the next time we're getting more starters is in a month, you could wait till then."

  Kat felt herself go numb, a whole month?

  "Hey dad, what about that other Pokemon, that one Crystal found injured and brought here?"

  Elm's head snapped up, "of course! How could I have forgotten about it?" He stood up and walked to a table across the room. Grabbing a Pokeball from its surface he turned back to Kat. "Katherine I know this isn't a usual choice for starters, but about a week ago a trainer brought this Pokemon in to us, apparently it had been found injured. We healed it, but the trainer didn't want it. If you're willing to take it, you can have it."

  "Of course, any Pokemon will do!"

  "Then she's yours." With that Elm tossed the ball to the floor. There was a flash of bright light before a small form materialized.

  The Pokemon flicked its tail and stared up at Kat. "Meowth?"

  "Professor, she's perfect," Kat breathed. She bent down on one knee, her arms open, "Come here Meowth," she called.

  The Meowth brightened at once and launched at Kat. Laughing at her new Pokemon's enthusiasm Kat gathering her up in her arms and started stroking her fur. Meowth then jumped to Kat's shoulder, rubbing her head against Kat's and purring. Kat then noticed the charm on top of the Meowth's head, unlike a normal gold one this one was a bright shiny silver.

  "Hey, her charm's silver."

  "Yes, we're not sure if that would make her a shiny Pokemon or not, but she certainly is different from your average Meowth, besides the charm she's slightly smaller than an average sized Meowth, and she doesn't seem to have the same fascination with shiny objects like others do."

  Kat stood up, the Meowth wobbling slightly from her change in position. "Well I think she's is perfect," she said, starting to scratch her under the chin.

  "Of course, well all that's left are your Pokeballs and Pokedex." After receiving five more Pokeballs Kat was given a choice between many different colored Pokedex. She ending up choosing a dark midnight black one, she would've preferred blue, but the only blue available was light blue, and she didn't really care for the color.

  Before she left she paused to shake Prof. Elm's hand.

  "Best of luck, and make sure you sign up for the Johto League in Cherrygrove City."

  "I'll be sure to, thank you again Professor." She looked over at William, "and thank you too William, if it hadn't been for you I probably wouldn't have found the lab," she paused to tickle Meowth, "or gotten Meowth here, thanks."

  William smiled, "you're welcome."

  Kat smiled one last time before turning and leaving. Once outside the lab Meowth jumped down from her shoulder to the sidewalk, looking up at her new trainer.

  Kat squatted down to look at her new friend. "You know, I think you need a name, calling you by your species is just too impersonal." She thought for a moment before smiling, "Isis, that's your name from now on."

  "Meowth!" Isis exclaimed happily.

  Kat rose to her feet, "come on Isis, let's go see what the world has in store for us."

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There you have it, Kat's got her first Pokemon.

As always, I'm open to ideas and suggestion, any questions you have I'll try to answer, see ya'll next chapter.

(Ya'll? Man, I have lived in the South for way too long^_^)


	4. Cherrygrove City

*looks around franticly* Where? Where are the errors? People, feel free to tell me any errors you see so I can correct them. Frankly I'd be amazed if I'd managed to find all of them myself, and I'm not afraid to take criticism, it helps me become a better writer. Oh, and sorry about the long wait, I had a major brain fart with this story^_^;

On a side note, *snicker* I'm assuming you all know how Pokemon have natures now, hasty, gentle, brave, etc. Well because of that I now have a timid Gyarados, I tell you guys, only in Ruby and Sapphire^_^

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  "Scratch attack Isis!"

  "Meowth!" Isis quickly closed the distance between her and the Pidgey and struck it with her claws.

  "Pidgoee!" The tiny bird screeched with annoyance and started flapping its wings, building up a sand attack.

  "Watch out!" The warning came a fraction too late, a wall of sand hit Isis, sending her flying backward. Isis tried unsuccessfully to rub the offending sand out of her eyes. While she was indisposed the Pidgey moved in for a tackle.

  "Growl!"

  Abandoning her futile rubbing Isis opened her mouth and growled, the resulting noise having a double effect, not only lowering the Pidgey's attack power but causing it to reel backward from the sound waves assaulting its eardrums.

  "Good job Isis! One more scratch attack!"

  Isis dashed forward and struck again, this time drawing blood in the process. The Pidgey slumped to the ground. Quickly reaching to her belt Kat grabbed a Pokeball, aimed, and let it fly. Upon impact the Pidgey turned into a burst of red light and was sucked into the Pokeball. After wobbling for a few seconds the ball settled to the ground with a ping.

  Kat's face was soon alight with a smile. She scooped up Isis and hugged her so hard she almost squished her.

  "You did it Isis! I'm so proud." Isis purred in response and started rubbing her head against the side of Kat's face.

  Transferring Isis back to the ground Kat walked over to the ball lying in the dirt and picked it up.

  "Well Isis, what should we name our new friend here?"

  Isis tilted her head to the side, very similar to what Noctowls did when they were thinking. After a moment she shook her head. "Meowth."

  "Oh well, we're bound to think of something sooner or later. But for the moment let's just keep going to Cherrygrove, it would be nice to get there before dark."

  Isis nodded in agreement and bounded to her trainer's side.

  "But first let's get that sand out of your eyes, I don't want your vision damaged, and the last thing I want is you getting hurt just because I was careless enough not to take care of you."

  That being said Kat settled to the ground in a crossed leg position and grabbed the canteen out of her pack. Pouring a bit of water onto a cloth she proceeded to wipe Isis's face and eyes clean of any offending sand.

  "There, that better?"

  "Meowth!" Isis exclaimed, shaking her head to free her whiskers of any remaining water.

  Kat laughed and held up a hand to shield her face, "good, now then, let's hurry up and get walking."

*****

  The rest of the day was spent walking. Every once in a while flocks of Pidgey or Spearow would fly by, and ominous rustlings marking the escape of some unknown Pokemon would sound through the forest. Kat caught glimpses of Pokemon every now and then, but most of the time they were just Rattata, Sentret, and the occasional Hoppip. It was nearing dusk when they finally reached Cherrygrove. Weary with the day long hike Kat just managed to smile down at her Pokemon.

  "We'll we made it, I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get some much needed rest at the Pokemon Center right about now."

  "Meowth," Isis agreed wearily.

  Entering the Pokemon Center Kat stopped for a moment and looked around. The place was empty, many of the trainers at dinner she guessed, which was probably where Nurse Joy was at the moment as well.

  *Oh well, maybe there's a Chansey around here somewhere that can heal these guys,* Kat walked up to the counter and rung the tiny service bell. "Hello, anyone here?" she called out when no one answered the bell.

  "Chansey chan?" Kat turned to find one of the center's Chansey behind her.

  "Hello there, sorry to bother you, but could you heal my friends up? We got in a little battle on the way over here."

  The Chansey nodded and went behind the counter to retrieve one of special trays used to carry multiple Pokeballs at once.

  After placing Pidgey's ball in the tray Kat turned to Isis with her ball in hand.

  "Alright Isis, this is only going to be for a short while, but for now I need you to get back in your ball, I promise I'll let you out as soon as I can, ok?"

  Kat could see the look of hurt in Isis's eyes.

  "I know, but it's only for a little while," Kat gave her the little puppy dog stare.

  Isis finally relented and allowed herself to be put back in the ball. As the Chansey walked away Kat sat down to wait, all the while trying to think of a name for Pidgey.

  Kat had nearly nodded off to sleep when the Chansey reappeared.

  "Chansey Chan," she sang while holding out the tray.

  "Ah, thank you," Kat said, taking the tray. Grabbing the two balls she first enlarged the one holding Isis and released her.

  "Meowth!" Isis looked up, expecting her trainer to be looking down at her smiling. Instead she found her looking solemnly at the second ball in her hand.

  "Meowth?"

  Kat glanced over at Isis, her solemn look melted into a smile. "I finally came up with a name." She held out the ball, "Come on out Quill."

  The Pokeball opened with a bright flash of light, Quill materialized onto the floor.

  "Pidgey," he said simply, flicking his tail and starting to look around his surroundings.

  Kat laughed, "yeah, nice to meet you too, now why don't we get ourselves something to eat?"

  The chorus that met her ears was all she needed.

*****

  Entering the dining room Kat's ears were blasted with noise. Isis shrunk behind her legs while Quill almost took flight.

  "Yeesh, there enough people here?" Kat whispered to her friends. When they failed to even acknowledge they had heard her Kat just sighed and headed for the buffet line. Grabbing some chili and cornbread for herself she also loaded up on a few bowls of Pokechow for her friends. After finding an empty seat she set down the Pokechow. Isis and Quill immediately started chowing down. Kat laughed at the two and settled down to her dinner.

  By the time they had finished Kat was feeling extremely tired. She yawned widely, and then noticed Isis had already curled up and was asleep. She then felt a hand on her shoulder.

  "Ready for bed?"

  Kat looked up to find the Nurse Joy that ran this center smiling down at her.

  Kat smiled back apologetically, "yeah, that sounds nice right about now."

  Nurse Joy had a Chansey show her to her room. After setting Isis down on the bed she quickly changed into her pjs. Walking back to the bed she grabbed the egg out of her pack and slipped into bed, being careful not to wake Isis. Curling her arms and body around the egg she felt Quill settle next to her head on her pillow. Soon after she felt Isis stand up and move up near her face. She found herself breathing in the rich scent of her fur. She felt herself drifting of to sleep to that scent, an odd mix of nutmeg and the way earth smells after a rain storm. One fleeting thought glanced through her mind as she fell asleep. She was so lucky to be here, and for what seemed like the first time in her life, she was truly happy.

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R&R!


	5. Eternal Flame

Many thanks to Daypaw, NoZoMi aNd HoTaRu, Lunar Sphinx, and our newest reviewers health 999, DragonMaster 3000, Schythe, and LoverofBalto for all of your lovely reviews, it really means a lot to me that you guys enjoy my story ^_^

Oh, and DragonMaster, yeah, I did know that, funny, huh? And did you know that since the days of Red and Blue Rhydon could learn moves like Surf, Thunderbolt, Icebeam, and Egg Bomb, and that Aron and its evolutions can learn Aerial Ace? Heh, I remember when I first got Pokemon Stadium for my N64, I had a Lapras that knew Solarbeam, a Nidoking that knew Thunder and Blizzard, and a Raichu that knew Pay Day. And those Pokemon kicked some tail, Lapras happened to be the sole reason I beat Mew in the final battle of the Prime Cup Master Level ^_^; And I'm so happy! I started a new game on my Ruby recently and caught a shiny Torkoal, this new one brings my total collection up to 10 ^_^

Hrmm, as you can all see my updates are sporadic at best. Writing is being juggled between schoolwork and my mother's attempts to get me outside more, that and I recently started my new pet project know to my fans as Remnants, a sequel to my very first fic that's been long in the making. So please forgive me if my updates are slow, but regardless I will try to get them out.

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  Kat woke up slowly. Blinking a few times to let her eyes get accustomed to the morning light she wondered what had woken her up, Isis and Quill were both fast asleep, and the egg still lay curled in her arms. Sitting up she set the egg down in the sheets and moved to get out of the bed.

  That's when she heard it.

  It was a soft sort of peeping, and it seemed to be coming from the egg. Her heart racing with excitement Kat gently picked the egg back up and held it to her ear, listening as hard as she could to make sure she heard what she thought she did. Her breath caught in her throat, the egg had started peeping again.

  "Hello little one," she whispered, "who are you, curled up in that tiny shell?"

  As if responding to her question the peeping increased in frequency. Kat gave a soft laugh at this and set the egg down next to Isis, knowing she would help keep it warm, before heading to the shower.

  After a quick shower she changed into a fresh set of clothes and headed back into the room. Still toweling her hair dry her eyes were met with quite an amusing sight. It seemed both Isis and Quill had woken up and were now arguing about who would keep the egg warm.

  "Meowth! Me meowth!"

  "Pidgey pid, pidgoee!"

  "Meowth? Owth me!"

  Kat cleared her throat and the pair looked up in surprise, even though that look quickly turned into one of embarrassment.

  "Well, when you two are done arguing how about we get some breakfast?"

  Five minutes later the three of them walked into the breakfast hall. A few trainers were here, getting in an early breakfast before heading out. A number of Pokemon were also out and enjoying breakfast or conversing among themselves.

  Kat started walking over to the breakfast bar. "So what do you guys feel like this morning? Toast, fruit, or just plain old pokechow?"

  At the sound of her voice a pair of Pokemon looked up, fixing their gaze on Kat. The one closer to her, a Tauros, rumbled a greeting and walked over to her, licking her hand with his rough tongue.

  The second quickly waddled over as well, "golduck gol!" it greeted.

  "Well, aren't you two friendly." Kat smiled, scratching the Tauros on top of its head.

  "Tauros, Golduck, get back here, what have I told you about bugging other train- Kat?"

  Kat snapped her eyes upward. "Vincent? What are you doing here?"

  Vincent laughed, "I could ask the same of you, little miss explode-and-run, you didn't run away from home, did you?"

  Kat grinned sheepishly, "no, I'm here legit."

  "Oh? And why's that?"

  Kat pointed down at Isis. "Lady Claire signed me up, I'm a trainer now."

  "Really? That's great Kat, congrats. Come 'ere and sit with us, if you don't mind that is."

  "I'd be delighted."

  "Great, then let me introduce you to the group." He led her over to where his Pokemon were enjoying breakfast. "Okay, Tauros and Golduck you've met, this is Marowak," said Pokemon nodded his head before turning back to his food, "that's Golbat," he said, pointing to a lump of blue sitting on a chair.

  "Asleep?"

  "Pretending, I think he thinks that if I think he's asleep I'll leave him alone." Vincent leaned over and poked the mass of blue. "You're not fooling anyone Golbat, so stop pretending and say hi."

  The blue mass shuddered as if annoyed and rose to its feet, "golbat."

  "See, that wasn't so hard."

  Golbat glared at him and settled back into a lump, Kat barely suppressed the laugh that rose in her throat.

  "Anyway, the pink fuzzball over there gorging herself is Flaaffy, and this sleepyhead is my starter Meganium."

  "Well it's very nice to meet all of you," Kat said, Isis suddenly meowed at her feet.

  Startled, Kat looked down with an apologetic look on her face, "oh, I'm sorry Isis, you guys must be hungry." She looked up at Vincent. "Would you mind looking after these guys for a second?"

  "No prob."

  "Thanks." Kat quickly hurried over to the breakfast bar and grabbed a couple bowls of pokechow, some toast, and a cup of tea. Upon returning to the table she found Vincent in a staring contest with Quill.

  "Um… Vincent, what are you doing?"

  "Huh?" He blinked as he looked up at her. "Ah man!"

  Quill crowed with delight and puffed out his feathers, a smug look all too obvious on his feathered face.

  Kat sighed exasperatedly, "Quill, just what did you start?"

  "So his name is Quill huh?" Vincent looked over at the tiny bird. "He kept staring at me, so I asked if he wanted to have a staring contest, and the little guy accepted."

  Quill chirped.

  "And won," Vincent added, rolling his eyes.

  Kat snorted and shook her head, "boys." Unloading the food on the table her pair quickly dug in.

  "So who's your starter?"

  Kat took a quick sip of tea before replying. "That'd be Isis, the Meowth, Quill I caught yesterday."

  "A Meowth for a starter? That's an odd one."

  "Apparently Prof. Elm's lab was robbed, the Cyndaquil that I was supposed to get was one of the Pokemon taken."

  "Ah, well I'm sorry that happened to you."

  Kat grinned, "don't be, I got Isis because of it." She took a quick bite of toast. "So what are you doing down here?"

  "I'm heading back home to Ecruteak to train some more before the Johto League. You're going to try for the League too, right?"

  At this question Kat set her cup silently back down to the table.

  "Kat?"

  "I… I'm not sure."

  "What? Why not?"

  Kat hesitated slightly before answering, "I, it's just, I don't want my friends to get hurt."

  "But when you captured Quill didn't Isis get hurt?"

  "Yeah, but fighting a Pokemon to capture it is different from a gym battle, gym battles are more like macho contests, making Pokemon battle to see who's is stronger. Working at the Pokemon Center I saw all sorts of serious cases, but the Pokemon that came in from gym battles were always so much worse." Tears started welling in Kat's eyes, "I don't want to lose anyone else to a macho contest, not like dad." Kat clenched her hands tightly together under the table, tears starting to slip down her cheeks, "I can't lose someone else."

  Vincent put a comforting hand on Kat's shoulder, "what happened Kat, you can tell me."

  Kat sniffed slightly, turning her tear stained face to look at him. "Promise you won't tell anyone?"

  He nodded, "promise."

  Kat shifted slightly in her chair. "In Blackthorn we have Pokemon gangs, much like many cities. My dad was walking home from work one night, it turned out there was a bit of showdown going on between two rival groups that night," Kat took a deep shuddering breath. "A member of one of the groups ordered his Pokemon to start attacking any human that wasn't part of the gang. His Pokemon went crazy, they started attacking innocents on the street." She gulped, "we got a call from the hospital that night, dad was in the emergency room, doctors tried the best they could." She paused to wipe away a tear that had slid down her cheek, "Mom got so cold after he died, she had never really liked Pokemon much before, but she had put up with them because Dad and I were so crazy about them. But after he was killed by one, she jut couldn't take it anymore. She absolutely hates them now," A few more tears slid down her cheeks. "I can't stand to lose anyone else, especially not in some macho contest that I started."

  "But Pokemon like to battle for their trainers, they like to make them proud by winning for them and showing them that all their training together has paid off."

  Kat reached over and stroked the top of Isis's head. "I understand that, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to these guys, they're my life now, they count on me." Her eyes seemed to go distant for a second, "Every year since I was ten I'd ask my mother for permission to become a trainer, and every year she'd refuse. I'd almost given up, these guys are a blessing to me, and I don't want anything to happen to them."

  "I understand what you mean, but why don't you ask what they want to do? It only seems fair that they should have some say it in too."

  Kat nodded, "you're right, it has to be their choice if they want to fight or not as well." Kat turned to her Pokemon to let their opinions be voiced, only to find them both curled up and fast asleep once more.

  Kat's hand went to her forehead in dismay, "those two…"

  Vincent laughed, "why don't you go take a walk or something? I'll watch these guys for you."

  "But-"

  "Just go, it'll help you clear your head."

  Kat frowned slightly, weighing options in her head. "I guess so," she unclipped their two balls from her belt, "I'll leave these here with you, just in case. At least this gives them a chance to get a nice long rest before heading to Violet."

  Vincent deftly picked the pair of balls from the table, "don't worry about them, just go and enjoy yourself."

  Kat smiled faintly, "alright already, I'm going."

*****

  Ten minutes later Kat was walking through a small park, the sea on her left and the park's shrubs and bushes to her right. She let out a deep breath of air, she had to admit that Vincent was right, taking this walk had calmed down her nerves considerably. There was still the issue of gym battles though, for that matter any trainer battle. She couldn't stand the thought of Isis or Quill getting hurt, she didn't want to be responsible for it either. But there was still their opinion though, if they wanted to battle then there would be little she could do to stop it.

  Kat sighed and sat down on one of the benches, resting her head in her hands. Her ears picked up on waves hitting the shore, breeze blowing through the bushes, and an odd sort of clanking and clattering that she couldn't quite figure out the source of. She raised her head in confusion and the odd noise continued, getting louder and louder as time passed. She frowned, what the heck was going on? The clanking got louder still, worse yet it sounded like it was headed toward her.

  Kat jumped to her feet as the source burst through the bushes near her. It turned out to be Charmander with several cans tied to its tale by a piece of string. The poor thing was crying with panic, tears streaming down the sides of its face. The string suddenly got caught in one of its claws, causing it to trip and fall to the ground. Kat rushed to its side without a second thought. Kneeling down next to it she put a calming hand on its back, feeling it shake beneath her fingers.

  "Shh, calm down, it's okay, you're safe now," she cooed, stroking her hand along its back.

  "Char, charmander," Charmander looked wearily up at her, tears continuing to stream down its face.

  "Now then, how about we get that string off your tail, would that make you feel better?"

  "Mander!" Charmander climbed back to its feet and turned around so its tail faced her.

  Kat went to work getting the knot undone, whoever had tied it had made it incredibly tight. Her fingers were starting to ach just from trying to undo it, so she could only guess what Charmander's tail felt like.

  A few more minutes passed and Kat finally managed to get the string off.

  "There we go, all better?"

  "Charmander char!"

  "Ah man, why'd you go and take the cans off, I almost caught him."

  Kat's eyes flicked upward as Charmander let out a freaked out scream and scrambled to hide behind her. The speaker turned out to be a young boy, about six years old by her estimate. She slowly rose to her feet while Charmander shifted himself behind her leg, peeking out from behind it to look at the boy.

  "And just what do you think you're doing tying cans to Charmander's tail? Pokemon can't be treated like toys you know."

  "Actually it was I who tied those cans to Charmander's tail."

  Kat swung her head around to look at the second speaker. This one turned out to be a boy of about fifteen years of age.

  "Chad, she took the cans off its tail, does that mean you won't catch it for me?"

  "No little bro, I'll still catch if for you. I did say that if you could catch up with it and keep it from running I'd get it for you." He turned his gaze to Kat, "you see, my family believes that training should start early. That little bugger hiding behind your legs is wild, we came upon the thing while it was sleeping. I promised my little bro here that if he could wear him out by chasing it I'd catch it for him. Those cans are so he could follow him." He took a step forward, "so if you'll just step out of the way I'll capture him and that will be that."

  "Excuse me? What kind of trainer are you? Charmander would never even think of listening to you if you used such dishonest ways to catch it."

  The boy smirked, "nothing a few beatings won't change," he glowered at her, "now get out of the way."

  Kat stood her ground and brought up her fists, "you'll have to go through me if you think you're going to catch this Charmander." Kat had never fought before in her life, well, unless she counted that boy she had sucker punched in second grade, but she wasn't about to go and let this excuse of a trainer catch Charmander without a fight.

  Chad's eyes flickered with annoyance. Reaching down to his belt he grabbed a Pokeball.

  "Kadabra, let's show this little girl why she shouldn't mess with a Farling."

  He flicked the ball to the ground and the psychic type appeared with a burst of light.

  "Teleport."

  Kadabra glanced back at its trainer with a look of confusion in its eyes, as if asking why he was attacking a human.

  Chad raised his fist, "now Kadabra, least you be the next one attacked."

  A look of panic crossed the Kadabra's face before he disappeared from sight. The next thing Kat knew was that she had been flung across ground. Stars flashed in front of her eyes for a moment as she tried to get her bearings back.

  "Psychic!"

  Wincing as she got back to her feet Kat saw the psychic type start to glow slightly as it built up the attack. Barely even thinking Kat grabbed a ball from her belt and hurled it at Charmander just as Kadabra unleashed its attack.

  Both the attack and the ball hurled through the air. Kat's throw had been good one though, reaching Charmander before the wave of psychic energy and sucking him in with a ping.

  Kat sprinted forward, grabbing the ball and taking off running before the boy even had time to yell. She felt the shockwave of something explode behind her and pushed herself to go even faster. Soon she was dodging people in the streets, people yelling in surprise as she pushed past them.

  Suddenly Kadabra appeared in directly in front her. Kat skidded to a halt and spun to run in another direction when Kadabra's psychic powers grabbed her body and lifted her into the air. Kat tightened her grip on the Pokeball when she felt herself go flying through the air for a second time, and straight into a brick wall. She hit with a crunch and fell several feet to the ground. Her head started to throb painfully and her vision turned fuzzy. The sudden sound of footsteps echoed loudly in her head and caused her to wince.

  "I told you to get out of the way, stupid girl," Chad lifted his foot to kick her.

  Kat shut her eyes and braced for impact. An impact that never came. There was the sound of a scuffle and several people started yelling.

  Kat opened her eyes as someone leaned down to look at her.

  "Hey kid, you okay?"

  "Hurts…" Kat mumbled, immediately wishing she hadn't said anything, for the pain in her head seemed to double.

  The figure turned away. "Hey! Somebody call an ambulance, this kid's hurt!" The figure turned back to her, "don't worry kid, the ambulance will be here soon, they'll take care of you."

  The figure said something else, but Kat didn't hear it. She felt herself sinking slowly into unconsciousness. Her dissipating thoughts centered on the Charmander that now resided in the Pokeball clutched in her hand. Technically he was hers now, she would never abandon him, even though she had only used the ball to get him out of harms way. An inky blackness started creeping along the sides of her vision and the edges of her mind.

  "Dante," she whispered, naming her new partner before she lost conscious thought, and surrendered to the darkness.

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Yes, I am so evil, leaving all of you at such a cliffie. Hope you enjoyed the latest installment, I'll try and update as soon as I can ^_^


	6. Traveling Buddies

Many, many, many apologies to my readers for the lateness of this chapter. For a while I was a little depressed, because a person who will remain nameless decided to flame me because he couldn't understand the difference between a flame and constructive criticism. And of course we just had some major weather problems as well. [cough] Hurricane Frances [cough]

Oh, but I did catch a shiny Roselia. I was just wandering through Route 117 on my Ruby to go get an item and it just appeared out of nowhere! I love it when things like that happen. And for the first time is five playthroughs I finally caught a Feebas! Well, make that seven Feebas, since I wasn't leaving that spot until I had several of both genders.

And since FF doesn't support certain symbols anymore, [ ] now represents thoughts.

One quick disclaimer, Jua Aisaki, Sumi Aisaki, the Ero region, and all its Pokemon belong to and are used with permission from BluebanglesYRP. She's currently redoing her fic, Foolish Games: The Sprites, but it's still really good, go read it!

Again, apologies, and without further adieu, A Chosen Path, chapter 6!

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Kat's eyes fluttered slowly open. A groan escaped her lips as she sat up, her hand going to her throbbing temples. She looked around slowly, taking in her surrounding. The room she was in was white, white walls, white floor, white sheets on the bed she was lying in, everything a blinding shade of soft, clean white.

"Hospital room," she murmured, almost immediately after wishing she had kept her mouth shut, for the throbbing in her skull had increased painfully when the vibration of her vocal cords had reverberated in her head. She rubbed her temples gently, hoping to take the edge off some of her discomfort, while her eyes continued to rove around the room.

Soon they lighted on a stack of clothes on a table, the clothes she had been wearing. Sitting on top of the stack was a lone Pokeball, and next to it her Pokedex.

[Why do I have a Pokeball with me? I left the others with Vincent. What happened?]

She sped through her recent memories, trying to find out what had happened. She felt her eyes widen when she remembered, feeling rather stupid for forgetting.

"Duh, Dante, pull yourself together Kat."

Kat swung her feet over the side of the bed, the poor guy was probably scared out of his mind right now, the least she could do was try and comfort him.

Easing out of the bed she gripped the rail to prevent herself from failing, cracking her head on that brick wall must have seriously messed with her sense of balance, for she was having a very difficult time trying to stand straight. Finally managing to set herself straight she shuffled over to the table, each step feeling like a hundred. When she reached it she stood still for a moment and closed her eyes, for the room had started to spin sickeningly around her.

When her head had finally stilled she cracked open an eye and glanced at the table. Reaching forward she snatched up the ball and, after a moment of hesitation, her Pokedex too, realizing she hadn't opened the thing since she'd gotten it. She might have known a thing or two about the basic treatment of Pokemon, the names of them and their evolutions, type differences, and simple stuff like that, but her understanding was greatly lacking when it came to knowledge about Pokemon. It wasn't really surprising, now that she thought about it, considering her mother hadn't let a single item even barely connected with Pokemon in the house, she had had to sneak in the nursing books.

Grasping both she turned and made her way back to the bed. Sliding back into it she turned and adjusted her pillows so she could sit up against the wall. After settling back against the pillows she sighed in relief and brought the Pokeball in front of her. Pressing the small button once to make it return to its regular size she pressed it a second time. A bright flash of light signaled Dante's appearance.

"Mander?" He looked around the room with an obvious look of confusion lining his scaly face.

"Hi Dante."

Though Kat wasn't expecting the best reaction from him, she certainly wasn't expecting what he ended up doing. With a freaked out scream of char Dante leaped at least a foot in the air, scrambled to the side of the bed, getting tangled in the sheets as he did so, and fell to the floor in an unceremonious heap.

"Dante!"

Kat scrambled to get off the bed and undo the sheets that twisted around him. But before she could even step toward him the orange lizard had already gotten free and backed himself into the opposite wall, far away from her as he could go.

"Dante, don't be afraid." She took a step toward him.

"Charmander char!" Dante cried out, backing further away from her.

Kat stopped moving, she lowered her head in defeat. "You're terrified of me, aren't you?" She turned and went back to the bed. She felt tears start to sting her eyes as she sat down, "I'm sorry Dante, I was just trying to help." Tears started to roll unchecked down her cheeks, she spun around in the bed, her back facing Dante, she felt just terrible right now, all she had wanted to do was help, but now it appeared she had just made it worse. She drew her knees up to her chest and sunk her face into them, she hadn't felt this awful in a long time.

Dante, seeing how upset she suddenly was, inched closer to the bed, watching her back heave slightly as she sobbed into her knees.

Reaching the bed he stretched out his clawed fingers and gripped the railing. With a slight amount of effort he climbed up into the bed, ever cautious in case the girl suddenly turned on him.

_Don't cry_

Kat's head snapped up, "who's there?"

Silence was her only answer.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

She blinked and shook her head, [I must be imaging things, that wall must have jarred my brain harder than I though.]

She suddenly felt a clawed hand gently touch her back, she turned to look at its source, her eyes wide and staring, tear marks all down her face. Standing on the bed behind her was Dante, his scaly face lined with worry.

"Dante?" She extended a shaking hand toward him, carefully, so not to scare him.

He eyed her hand a moment, before bending his head forward and sniffing her hand. Slowly, carefully, he rubbed his head against it. Kat smiled when he did this, slowly starting to run her other hand up and down the scales that lined his back.

"I am sorry I captured you like that, I really would have preferred you to have stayed wild, or at least caught you in a fair fight, but I didn't want you to be hurt." She drew him into her lap and hugged him. He rested his head on her neck, next to her throat, emanating a low rumble that almost sounded like purring. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"Charmander."

A few more tears ran down her cheeks, "thank you."

At that moment a knock sounded at the door, Dante went rigid where he was sitting, apparently Kat he could deal with, but other humans were a different story.

"Yes?"

The door opened to reveal a nurse, she quickly walked over to the bed. "Thank goodness you're awake dear, we were starting to get worried." She pointed to Dante, "would you mind moving that little fellow while I give you a quick checkup?"

"Okay," she looked down to her lap, "hey Dante, would you mind moving just for a minute, you can come right back just as soon as she's done."

Dante looked saddened for a moment, before standing and hopping off the bed.

"Good, now then, look at me."

……

"Pidgoee!"

"You get back here Quill!" Vincent skidded slightly on the tile floor as he rounded a corner in hot pursuit of the small bird. Both he and Isis had become rather, bored, you could say, with Kat's unusually long absence. In fact Isis had already become so unruly that he had had to put her back in her Pokeball. Quill hadn't been far behind her, until he decided to take off that is.

"Quill! You are going to be in so much trouble when I catch y-arggh!" Vincent's luck ran out as he slipped on the tile and plowed straight into another trainer. After muttering a hasty apology he decided that it was time to get serious. Keeping a lookout for any sign of his smug, feathered face Vincent slipped a ball off his belt.

"Alright Quill, now where are you."

After a few moments of waiting Quill suddenly rocketed around the corner. Quick as a flash Vincent tossed the ball. The bright flash that came a split second later signaled the arrival of his Pokemon.

"Alright Meganium, tie him up with Vine Whip!" Vincent yelled, pointed at the back of a quickly retreating Quill.

His starter complied without hesitation, sending a pair of thick, rope like vine steaming toward the bird. Quill let out a startled out cry as the vines surrounded him.

"Good job! Now grab him!"

The vines started to close in on him. Quill shrieked in defiance and kept flying. Quick as a flash he dodged around the vines and rounded on Meganium.

"Pidgoee!" he cried out, lashing at Meganium with his claws and wings.

"Ganium!" she cried as one of Quill's wings connected with her forehead, leaving a small blemish. In retaliation she flung a vine toward him, but Quill simply dodged it and continued with his assault.

[Dang, the sucker's fast.] "Change of plans Meganium, hit him with Sleep Powder!"

"Meganium!" she called in understanding, before growling as yet another one of Quill's wings connected. The petals around her neck shook slightly as the bluish white power lifted from them. Startled, Quill flapped backward, trying to get away from the dust, but to no avail. The powder quickly engulfed him, immediately sending him into a deep slumber. Vincent whipped out Kat's ball, "return!" A beam of red light arched toward him, collided with him, and sucked him back into the Pokeball.

"Phew," he walked over to Meganium, "good job Meganium," Vincent said, stroking his partner's neck.

"What on earth is going on over here?"

Vincent inwardly groaned, "it's nothing Nurse Joy, this Pidgey just decided to start acting a little bratty, that's all."

Nurse Joy put her hands on her hips, "Well try and control your Pokemon better next time, this is a hospital."

"Yes ma'am."

"Excuse me."

Both of them looked over to the speaker.

"Officer Jenny, what are you doing here?"

Reaching into the folder she held she brought out a picture. "This girl was attacked earlier today by another trainer, I was wondering if maybe you knew her name, since her Pokedex wasn't programmed yet."

Nurse Joy took the picture and scrutinized it closely. "Yes, I know her, came in last night, afraid I didn't catch her name though."

Vincent leaned over Nurse Joy's shoulder to get a look at the picture.

"Wha- That's Kat!"

Both adults looked up sharply at him. "You know this girl young man?"

"Yeah, her name's Katherine, I was watching her Pokemon while she took a walk to calm her nerves."

"But she had a Pokemon with her."

"What? Well she must have caught one then, I have her other two with me," he held out the two balls for confirmation.

"Well, can you come with me then?"

"Uh, I guess, why exactly do you need me to come with you?"

"Well we need someone to sign her out of the hospital and bring her back here, since you're the only one who knows her it'll have to be you."

"Oh, okay…" Vincent paused a moment, "wait a minute, hospital? What happened to her?"

"I'll explain on the way, just follow me."

……

Kat absentmindedly rubbed her arm where the nurse had taken her blood. She had always hated needles, but this one seemed to be sorer then most shots she had gotten.

A sudden snore jolted her thoughts away from her arm, she glanced down at the source of the noise. Dante was currently asleep, curled up next to her side while his tail hung over the side of the bed. She leaned back into her pillows and sighed.

"So bored."

Glancing to her side table her eyes lighted on her Pokedex. Carefully, so she wouldn't disturb Dante, she reached over and grabbed it. Settling back into her pillows, Pokedex in hand, she flipped it open and turned the power on, reading the words that popped onto the screen.

BOOTING…

PLEASE INPUT PERSONAL DATA

After a few minutes furious tapping Kat finished. "There, all done," she said as she pressed the enter key. The screen went completely black. "Oh you have got to be kidding…" Memories of her computer class suddenly popped up, specifically the day where she had single-handedly managed to fry one of the computers. She still didn't know how she did it, even her teacher had been flustered on how she had managed to fry the thing just by logging on.

She groaned in disbelief, "don't tell me I have to do that all over again, stupid piece of-" the screen flickered back to life.

"Greetings Katherine, I am Dexdra, your personal guide to the world of Pokemon," a strangely feminine voice sprung forth.

Kat blinked, "uh, never mind."

She spent the next few minutes looking up various pieces of data on both her group and various other Pokemon, and when she finally became bored with that she pointed the device at Dante, watching the words that popped up halfheartedly.

SCANNING……

CHARMANDER, MALE

LEVEL: 7

NATURE: TIMID

EXPERIENCE TO NEXT LEVEL: 137

[Wow, not bad, kinda surprising this little thing can tell me that much.]

At that moment a knock sounded at the door. Kat sat up in surprise, glancing down at the still sleeping lizard before answering.

"Yes?"

The door creaked open a tiny bit and a voice floated through. "Now you two calm down, we don't know how she's feeling right now- hey!"

The next instant the door was forcefully pushed open and a pair of figures blasted through it. Dante awoke with a start and after a half sleepy half startled char he twisted around to face this new threat, only to find himself twisting right off the bed and onto the floor. There was a loud crack and a muffled hiss of pain.

"Dante!"

Kat swung herself out of the bed and kneeled on the floor next to him. A large bump was forming on his head, and there was no doubt in Kat's mind that is was going to turn into quite a nasty bruise. The fire lizard reached up with his claws and gently felt the bump, tears started to well in his eyes.

"It's okay Dante, soon as I get out of here I'll bring you straight to the Pokecenter, okay?" She brought out his ball, "maybe you should just stay in here for a little while, it'll help keep the swelling down."

He nodded and let himself to be sucked back into the red and white sphere. Kat set the ball on her side table and glared at the two figures fidgeting on the bed.

"What were you two thinking? Barging in here like that? What if the nurse had been about to take my blood and she stabbed me in the wrong place, hmm?"

Vincent rubbed the back of his neck in a gesture of embarrassment, "yeah, sorry about that."

Kat turned her eyes over to him, "oh, so you're here too?"

"Yeah," he pulled a chair closer to the bed so he could sit down. "Officer Jenny filled me in on some of the details regarding your little, accident. Care to tell me what really happened?"

Kat folded her arms across her chest, a very sour look lining her face. "I'd rather not talk about that foul person."

"Pidgey."

She glanced back to the bed, where the pair of them were staring at her with the worse case of puppy eyes she had ever seen, she instantly felt her anger seep down to nothing. "Oh all right, come 'ere you two," she said, spreading her arms wide.

As soon as she had uttered those few words both Isis and Quill took flying leaps off the bed. Isis managed to land on her head while Quill settled in her arms. She stroked Quill for a moment and cracked a smile, a smile that quickly turned into a look of confusion as a fine, bluish white powder came off on her fingertips.

"Quill, what on Earth is on your feath- achoo!" A violent sneeze burst forth, almost dislodging Isis from her head, tears starting to leak from her quickly turning red eyes. She sneezed again, "Vincent, you didn't- achoo! Have any- choo! Problems getting them- choo! Here, did you?"

Vincent looked a little nervous as her sneezes started to increase in frequency, "a little, why do you ask?"

"Did you- achoo! Use Meg- achoo! Meg- choo! Meganium's Sleep Powder?" She clapped her hands over her face to prevent the sneezes from making such a racket.

"Yes."

"I'm allergic to grass Pokemon pollen," was the muffled reply to his answer, a second later her hands were almost blown off her face by another sneeze.

"Well then let's get Quill cleaned off before you sneeze your nose right off your face."

Kat nodded her head in understanding and passed a very unhappy Pidgey over to Vincent to get a bath in the washroom sink.

Isis jumped down from her head to the sheets while Kat climbed back into the bed, listening intently to the bath as it unfolded.

"Now calm down, we need to get you nice and clean so Kat doesn't start sneezing ag- ow! Dang it Quill, that beak of yours is sharp- ow! Now stop that! That really hurts you kno- ow! Quill!"

Kat's giggling was muffled slightly by the numerous tissues she had grabbed to rid her nose of the pollen, but somehow Vincent still heard it.

"I can hear you giggling Kat, you know this isn't funny! You need to train your Pokemon bet- ow! Geez, that's it!"

She suddenly heard what sounded like a loud splash, as well as a very indignant screech. The next moment a dripping wet Quill soared out of the bathroom and landed with a splat in Kat's lap. Vincent soon followed, his shirt splashed with water and hands bearing the signs of the battle.

Kat grinned good-naturedly. "Sorry about that Vinnie, I guess Quill does need some behavior training."

Vincent rubbed one of his hands with a sour look on his face, "you got that right, and don't call me Vinnie."

"Whatever, what would you like to be called then?"

"Vincent, and before I forget, you're free to go."

"What?"

"Officer Jenny had to get me to sign you out of the hospital. Now that I've done that you're free to go, as long as I escort you out, of course."

"Well why didn't you say so earlier? I can't wait to get out of here." Swinging off the bed Kat collected her clothes and headed to the washroom. "Give me ten minutes and I'll be ready," she told him as she closed the door.

True to her word Kat walked out of the washroom ten minutes later clothed and groomed. "Well then, shall we be going?"

Vincent got up and held the door open. "Injured people first," he said, his voice dripping with mock sweetness.

"Ha-ha, very funny Vinnie," Kat replied, but collected her things and walked out the door.

"So," Vincent said, catching up with her as she walked down the hall, "where are we going now?"

"To the Pokecenter, I need to get Dante healed up and pick up the rest of my stuff.

……

"What?!" The voice over the vidphone exclaimed.

"I'm telling you it's her, the blood work doesn't lie."

"Well then what are you waiting for? Go get her and keep her from leaving until I can get my agents to come and grab her."

"I'm afraid that's not possible," a third voice joined in on the conversation. "Apparently someone has already signed her out of the hospital, she left twenty minutes ago."

"Well keep an eye on her, if you two screw this up I'll have your jobs!"

"Yes sir!"

The vidphone clicked off, the screen growing dark and silent.

"You heard him! Go find her and keep an eye on her!"

……

A voice suddenly boomed over the loudspeaker, "Katherine Bowing, your Pokemon is ready."

Kat smiled in relief, "good, Dante's checkup is all done." She stood up and stretched, in the corner of her eye noting a boy with strawberry-blonde hair looking at her intently, but she didn't give it much thought. The same boy had in fact been told by Nurse Joy to turn his cell phone off, it was an odd rule to say the least in this day and age, but some Pokecenters had enacted it to preserve the quiet of the front lobby.

Upon receiving Dante's Pokeball from the Chansey nurse at the counter she pressed the small button on the front of the ball to let him out. With a bright flash the little orange fire lizard was standing on the ground in front of her.

"Charmander!" he cried, holding up his arms and wiggling his claws as if asking to be picked up.

Kat laughed at his behavior, but all the same stooped down to pick him up. The reptile now being cradled in her arms she kissed the top of his scaly, bump free head, "feeling better now?"

"Charmander char!"

"Excuse me."

Kat felt Dante shudder in her arms as the boy who had been watching her earlier addressed her. "You're Katherine, right? Katherine Bowing?"

"Yes," she replied, frowning slightly, who was this guy?

"From Blackthorn?"

Kat nodded again, her brow now furrowed slightly.

A large grin appeared on the boy's face, "I thought I recognized you. You're my sister's penpal, remember Sumi Aisaki, from Ero?"

Kat scanned through her memory, Ero… Sumi… A sudden image of a letter popped into her head, a letter that had come with a picture of a laughing nine year old girl hugging an Eevee. The letter itself telling about the wondrous region of Ero, full of Pokemon she'd never even heard of and spectacular places she could only imagine.

Kat suddenly laughed, "now I remember! So you're Sumi-chan's brother, Jua, right? What are you doing all the way out here in Jhoto?"

Jua's grin widened further, "I," he struck a dramatic pose, "finally passed the test."

"Sixth time's the lucky charm, eh?"

His grin was abruptly replaced with a look of startled disbelief. "Wait a minute, how'd you know that?"

"Sumi-chan told me that you were going to take the test every year until you passed."

"Oh, so what are you doing down here in Cherrygrove? Last time I heard my sis talkin' about you she said your mom wouldn't let you be a trainer."

"Well, you'd be right, my mom still wouldn't let me," a light smile adorned her face, "but Lady Claire had different thoughts."

"Awesome, you know Sumi's starting this year too? She got stuck in Ero though."

"Oh wow, really? Well next time you talk to her tell her congrats from me."

"Hey Kat!" Vincent's voice called over to her from the entrance, "you ready yet? We'll need to get going soon if we want to get some distance to Violet before nightfall."

"I'm coming Vincent, just give me a sec!" she called back.

"Friend of yours?" Jua asked.

"You could say that, Vincent lives in Ecruteak so he offered to show me the way to Violet on his way home."

Jua shifted his backpack, "I'd better get going myself, I'm in a bit of a race with Sumi to see who'll get the first badge."

"Well why don't you come with us? I'm sure Vincent wouldn't mind, and the more the merrier in my book!"

His face broke into a smile. "Really? You mean it? That'd be great, I know this place even worse than Ero, it'd be nice if I could get some local Jhotans to at least give me a little of the layout."

"Well that's settled then, come on, I'll introduce you."

Returning Dante to his ball Kat walked over to Vincent with Jua in tow.

"Who are you?" Vincent asked as Kat reached him, eyeing Jua with a searching look.

Jua stuck out his hand, "Jua Aisaki, from Ero."

"Jua's my penpal's brother," Kat jumped in, "he's heading to Violet too so I asked him if he wanted to come with us."

"Oh," Vincent said, grudgingly taking Jua's offered hand. "You sure we can trust this guy?" he asked Kat in an undertone.

Kat gave him a reproachful look, "Vincent, I can't believe you just asked me that, he's fine, so let's just get going."

Vincent gave her a dirty look in response. "Fine," he said, and walked out the door.

"Yeesh, he sure isn't Mr. Sunshine," Jua said, before following him out the door.

For the second time in less than a week Kat questioned herself about what she had gotten herself into, but just sighed and walked out the door.

Not long after the three of them were standing on the trail that was Route 30.

"Jhoto League, here we come," Jua said, looking over at Kat and smiling.

"If you can make it there Ero-boy."

"What'd you say?!"

Kat darted in between the two boys before a fight could start and looped her arms around theirs. "What are we waiting for? Let's hit the road!"

……………………………………………………

Anyway, since I felt so bad for letting you guys go so long without an update, I'm going to give you a little preview of a scene later in the fic.

Kat was in a bad mood. She and Quill had arrived at the center at nearly two a.m., both of them soaked to the bone from the rain and Quill with half his feathers sticking the wrong way. Nurse Joy had been surprised to say the least when they had arrived, thank God the rain had washed the blood from her clothes though, at least she wasn't questioned about that.

She had given both Pokemon to Nurse Joy, Quill was to be taken care of by a Chansey, while the other went straight to the emergency room. She had wanted to stay up and wait for them, but another Chansey had practically pushed her into an empty room.

Now it was morning though, and she was still waiting for word on them both. Earlier, when she had inquired about their condition at the front desk, she had only been told to wait and been pointed in the direction of the breakfast room.

"Persian."

Kat looked down from her musings. Isis was gazing up at her, her empty bowl of Pokechow planted between her feet. She sighed and placed another helping in the bowl, which Isis readily began to wolf down.

Currently Isis was the only one of her group awake, the rest were still fast asleep in back in her room.

_The - day in -ay out, when are - going -nge around he-?_

Kat cringed, a headache coming forth in full force. Pinching the bridge of her nose she vainly tried to focus on something else, unfortunately what she ending up hearing wasn't much better than the headache.

"Oooh! Guess what my Uncle sent me all the way from Hoenn you guys! A Delcatty!"

There were numerous squeals of delight, Kat glanced up to see a number of girls sitting a few tables down. No doubt they were trainers, but the way they were dressed made it look as if they had just come back from prom. One girl, presumably the owner of the Delcatty, was practically glowing with smug pride. Kat shut her eyes as another wave of pain passed behind her brow, her breath hissed between her teeth as she tried to ignore the pain.

"So what's it like? Is it as elegant and regal as they say?"

"Of course! Delcatty is the best cat Pokemon there is, way better then Persian." Kat could practically feel her smug stare.

[She did not just say that…]

"Rachel, be careful what you say, you don't know what she'll do," another girl hurriedly whispered.

"Let her do what she wants, some mangy Persian will never hold a candle to my Delcatty!"

[Ignore it Kat, just ignore it, no reason to start something.] She picked up her cup of tea with a shaking hand and carefully took a sip from it.

"Rachel! Where are you going?!"

Kat could hear the click of her shoes hitting the floor as she strode over, no doubt the most expensive things daddy could buy.

"Hey you! Your Persian will never amount to anything close to my Delcatty! That thing's the mangiest, ugliest thing I've ever seen in my life. So what are you going to do about it, huh? Just try and take me!"

The teacup hit the table with a loud thunk.

[She just had to pick this morning.]

Kat stood up and turned to face the girl. Upon opening her eyes she discovered that she was a good five inches taller than the petite thing standing in front of her. For a moment she did nothing but stare, but then quick as a flash she grabbed her dress collar and pulled her face close.

"Listen here," Kat hissed, her voice barely a whisper, "normally I wouldn't give your type the time of day, but you caught me in a bad mood, so let me just say this, if you ever talk that way about my Pokemon again, I will personally introduce your face," she rose her other hand so the balled fist could be seen, "to my fist." The girl started to shake and shiver, maybe it was just her imagination, but Kat could have sworn she heard a low whimper escape her lips.

"Katherine Bowing to the front desk please."

Kat's head snapped around at the mention of her name. Giving the girl one last glare she released her. "C'mon Isis."

And that's your preview, hope you liked that little glimpse of things to come.


End file.
